Jyoti (goddess)

The goddess Jyoti is considered to be a Hindu goddess of light and the "Vel". She is the daughter of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati and is closely associated with her brother Lord Murugan because she is the goddess of "vel" .

Legends

The goddess has two different myths based on her birth. In the first myth, she emerges from Shiva's halo and is a physical manifestation of the lord, her father's grace.

In the second myth, she is born from a spark from Goddess Parvati's forehead, similar to how Lord Muruga is born from six sparks from Lord Shiva's forehead. From her, the Devi fashions a weapon that she presents to her son as Shakti Vel. With that weapon, Lord Muruga destroys the evil demon Surapadman.

It is believed that she is in a formless or arupa state in all of her brother Lord Muruga's temples. She is also thought to be the flame that her father Nataraja (a form of Shiva) holds.

Devotion and Worship

In Shodasam, a major devotional composition by the sage Agastya, the sage discovers and describes the role of the mother Manonmani, her husband (Shiva in the form Sadisiva) and their daughter Jyoti who are together in the Ajna cakra in our foreheads for each day of the waxing and waning of moon. The sage also recounts that how Jyoti was born of the Pranava pillar of ‘OM'.

The goddess is called Saravanabhavai and is worshipped in her Vel form in many Muruga temples. She is called Saravanabhavai to show that she is forever intertwined with Saravana or Muruga. In some parts of India, she is worshipped as the goddess Rayaki who is associated with the Vedic Raka. In North India, she is known as the goddess Jwalaimukhi and highly revered.